Session 22 1

Comparative Emergency Management

Session 22 Slide Deck

Session 22 2

Session Objectives

1. Provide a Brief Background on Disaster Recovery

2. Describe Pre- and Post-Disaster Recovery Planning and Coordination

3. Discuss the Various Recovery Finance Options Available to Disaster Impacted Communities and Countries

4. Examine Several Special Recovery Considerations

Session 22 3

Disaster Impacts

• Environmental damage• Property and infrastructure damage and

destruction• Disruption of social systems• Economic disruption and loss• Physical and psychological consequences to

people

Session 22 4

Recovery Defined

“The emergency management function by which countries, communities, families, and

individuals repair, reconstruct, or regain what has been lost as result of a disaster and,

ideally, reduce the risk of similar catastrophic consequence in the future”

Session 22 5

Recovery Characteristics

• Takes months to years• Complex planning and operational

considerations• Diverse range of stakeholders• Victims influential in determining outcomes• Community ownership is key• Tied to economic development

Session 22 6

Recovery Stakeholders

• Victims• Community• Governments (all jurisdictional levels)• Businesses• NGOs• Insurance• Foreign Governments• International Organizations / IFIs

Session 22 7

Recovery Phases

• Short-Term Recovery• Long-Term Recovery

Session 22 8

Short Term Recovery

• Begins as soon as the disaster manifests itself • Typically focus on stabilizing the lives of the

affected people • Sometimes called “relief”• Tend to be temporary and often do not directly

contribute to the community’s actual long-term development

• Tend to be guided by response plans

Session 22 9

Long-Term Recovery

• Does not begin in earnest until after the emergency phase of the disaster has ended

• Community or country begins to rebuild and rehabilitate

• Vulnerability reduction opportunities exist• More funding required

Session 22 10

Typical Recovery Actions

• Provision of temporary, interim, and permanent shelter

• Inspection of structures, and the demolition of those which cannot be repaired

• Removal and disposal of cleared debris• Rehabilitation and/or reconstruction of

infrastructure• Repair of damaged buildings

Session 22 11

Pre-Disaster Recovery Planning• “PEPPER”• Identify hazards, analyze risk, and determine ways

to reduce those risks • Greater understanding of long-term effects is

gained• Many recovery processes common to all hazard

types• Decisions that have long-term repercussions are

better made in the pre-disaster environment• More organized planning methodology than

leaving planning until after a disaster happens

Session 22 12

Post-Disaster Recovery Planning

• Acutely necessary function• Performed in a time-constrained setting• No normal procedures for development

review and approval• More sharply focused / more realistic• Public consensus must be built• Development must wait for risk reduction

analysis

Session 22 13

Recovery Coordination

• Vital, but extremely difficult to achieve• Mechanisms required at local, regional,

national, and international levels• Wide representation key to success• Mechanism becomes central repository of

information and assistance

Session 22 14

Recovery Committee Member Examples

• Environmental officers• Floodplain manager• Building officials• Rural and urban planners• Environmental organizations• Private development and construction

agencies

Session 22 15

Recovery Assessment

• Damage and needs information required for planning

• Identifies strategies for employing available resources and setting action priorities

• Response assessment information transfers• Determines priorities / order

Session 22 16

Funding Options

• Insurance• Government-based emergency relief funds• Donations• Loans• Catastrophic bonds and weather derivatives• Private development funding• Incentives, and • Tax increases

Session 22 17

Allocation of Recovery Funding

• Disbursement dependent on the affected government’s preferences and abilities

• Some governments allow funding to go directly to the victims / some manage spending themselves

• Funds also disbursed as direct grants or loans • The speed with which humanitarian relief must be

provided often makes monitoring and auditing of funds more difficult than in more traditional development processes

Session 22 18

Recovery Personnel• In recovery, heavy demand for personnel• Community may have enough funding and materials

but a shortage of personnel to support the workload– The most important personnel source is the affected

region itself – many need immediate employment– Have a vested interest in the outcome of the recovery

effort / most in tune with the community’s character• Second personnel source = relief agencies• Third source = military forces

– Sheer numbers, maneuverability, technical expertise, equipment, manageability, and relatively low cost

• Fourth source = private contractors

Session 22 19

Recovery Materials• Two options: local and imported.• Local is preferable because:

– Supports the local economy – Ensures materials are appropriate for the local climate– Ensures materials are culturally acceptable

• Goods available in local markets means procurement is faster and more efficient 

• Local procurement can exhaust local inventories and cause a ‘market shock’ where prices are

• Wage inflation for skilled workers • Massive devastation to the environment • Recycling is a third option

Session 22 20

Resisting the Urge to Return to Normal

• The greatest obstacle that recovery planners face • First emerges in the short-term phase • Victims want to return to their old life as quickly

as possible simply to put an end to suffering • Tremendous pressure for disaster managers• Public outcry echoed / amplified by the media• Businesses losing opportunities will voice

disapproval• Pressure on politicians at all government levels

Session 22 21

Opportunity in Disguise• Recovery period presents an opportunity

– A chance of increasing community resilience – Economic revitalization– Urban improvement / rezoning / modernization

• Opportunity to create a better, more resilient, and more successful community that rarely exists otherwise– Pressure to rebuild as quickly as possible makes such an

opportunity difficult to exploit– Pre-disaster planning helps

• After a disaster, mitigation opportunities / conditions change considerably – Budgets may swell with relief funding– Dangerous buildings may have been destroyed

Session 22 22

Ensuring Recovery Equity• The poor bear a greater brunt of the disaster and

face greater recovery difficulty – Because more resources available to the wealthy to

ensure that risk is reduced before the disaster– E.g., insurance, disaster-resistant construction, lower-

risk neighborhoods, risk education

• Contingent upon disaster managers and recovery planners to ensure equitable distribution

• Poor need advocates on the planning team• Cultural vulnerabilities also exist

Session 22 23

Community Relocation• In some cases, the only viable option for reducing

future disaster risk is to relocate the community• This is a complicated undertaking, and is rarely

effective – Extremely difficult to locate safer sites within close

proximity to the original community– Substantial infrastructure may still be intact or

repairable– The cost to relocate is usually higher than the cost to

rebuild• Relocation viable if planners work closely with

the affected community / ensure that their concerns are addressed and their needs are met